Stephen has begun Lord of the Rings, part of a course on Lewis and Tolkein.

Patrick is reading A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.

And Katie has a series of her own going. After having literally memorized huge chunks fo the Little House books, she's reading the AnnePellowskiseries. She's utterly captivated. She knows that she comes from Polish roots and the combination of Polish culture and Catholic references are truly endearing to her.

How happy I was when my father entered the house in the evening! He seldom could come home at noon. He would take me in his arms, kiss me, and [play with] me before his supper, although he then must have been quite worn out with his day's toil. I was his idol. He would spend hours playing with me and answering my endless questions. His greatest joy was to procure pleasant surprises: a walk, or a trip, some little present, a rosary, a statue, some toy or piece of jewelry. Speaking of the latter, the first I remember were a tiny golden heart and a little cross. A heart, symbol of the gift of my own to Jesus, and of my love for Him, and a cross: emblem of Jesus' love for me.

....How I thank my good parents for having loved me in the true sense of the word, for real love supposes correction of faults, what should I have become, left to my pride, my stubbornness, my whims and fancies, my mischievous tricks? No doubt I should have developed into a sulky, unbearable child, all the more so as I was brought up without the salutary contact of other children. Later on, I should have been unable to agree with anybody, or get on without making those around me suffer. My God, I thank Thee for having given me parents who taught me to obey.~Blessed Dina Belanger of Quebec

::carefully cultivating rhythm

Now that the prayer rhythm feels really firm and utterly natural, it's time to nail the chore rhythm for the new season. I know that the more we have that is routine, the more those functions are planned and plotted and practiced, the fewer eveyday decisions I have. And I know that the fewer the decisions, the less the stress. I'm highly motivated to diminish needless stressors.

::creating by hand

I definitely did not hit the mark on the Elsie Marley Kids Clothes Week Challenge. I got a little sewing done last week, but not nearly what I'd hoped to do. This week is much mellower calendar-wise. I have twirly skirts to finish and then I'm going to trace for some sundresses.

Anyone out there who can advise on sizing for the Lisette patterns by Leisl Gibson? Kristin and I were looking at measurements on the pattern cover and it's hard to have confidence to cut fabric for a size that seems so much bigger than ready-to-wear sizes.

::learning lessons in

Gardening. I am admittedly inspired and a bit envious of what Ruth has done here. I'd just about given up on the idea that I could make rural dreams come true in suburbia. She's revised hope in that dream. I wonder how long I could raise bees before my neighbors would complain? I've been obsessed with the idea of bees since this visit last week. Even Mike--who's not so much into the urban (or anyplace else) farm idea--agreed that the bees are way cool. I've lifted my self-imposed book buying ban. I feel a binge coming;-)

::encouraging learning

This week we begin a math co-op with my friend Linda. Linda is a mathmatical genius. I'm hoping it will rub off on my children. For my part, I just have to teach hers to knit. I can do that; this plan is a good one.

::begging prayers

for all the people who have joined our weekend prayer community. I carried your requests with me to Mass and I will keep a candle lit for you throughout the week.

:keeping house

Now that the calendar has settled a bit, I'm looking at tackling the basement again. I pretty much want every room in the house to have the same order as the little girls' closet. I mean to make it that way and drag all these children along with me.

::crafting in the kitchen

I made banana pudding last week. We were out with friends after soccer and Mike and my friend Mindy were rhapsodizing over banana pudding. I abhor bananas, but the look on his face while he talked about pudding made me resolve to scout a good recipe. I did a little research and came up with my own. I will share with you tomorrow;-).

::loving the moments

when Nicholas served Confirmation Mass. His sweet face was just so earnest and he could barely contain his delight when he got to hold the Bishops' crozier during the homily. I so wish I had a picture.

::living the liturgy

We have begun to use 33 Days to Morning Glory with all my kids this week, in preparation for Marian Consecration on the Feast of the Visitation. Also in the plans for this lovely month of May: new handmade rosaries for everyone. I've ordered nearly all the necessary beads and parts. Admittedly, I've been gathering for several years now, but I think we're nearly ready to begin to make heirlooms.

::planning for the week ahead

There is nothing pressing this week. The idea makes me giddy.

All pictures this week are from my iPhone.Would you good iPhone folks share with me your ideas on uploading and "phone camera dumping?"

I love Instagram for editing, but I'm not real keen on publishing every single thing as I go to Instagram. I did find Followgram--pretty cool. It looks like Followgram makes it possible for even non-iPhone people to play along with Instagram following. Mary Beth is bothered by this--she thinks Instagram should be just for iPhones and those pictures should only be visible on a phone screen. She says she's a purist. I think she's being exclusive. Hmmm...

And, I fight the rising panic as I report this and wonder if you've ever had a such a thing happen: I was going through my camera roll, emailing pictures from my phone to my computer so I could post them here and suddenly, my camera went black. I can see everything else on my phone, but when I click the camera icon, nothing but black. Your thoughts? I have only one confirmation picture elsewhere, so I'm really hoping those photos aren't lost.

My MacBook isn't working. The mousepad is completely unresponsive. I've sort of let going into the Apple store slide a bit--the last couple of weeks, my phone has kept me wired just enough. But if I have to take my iPhone in and I have no computer...

I'm Elizabeth. I'm a happy wife and the mother of nine children. I grab grace with both hands and write to encourage myself and others to seize and nurture the joy of every day.

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